Trip to IBRI

 

On March 27th, we went to Ibri. Our primary goal was to visit a wild cave but we got stopped on the way because a 4WD was required to access the entrance of the cave.

However, we had a good time climbing the mountain next to it. Our efforts were worthwhile since we had a great view on the stones desert and we found some marine life fossils on the way.

The weather was good : warm and slightly cloudy. When we reached the top of the mountain, it was very windy therefore we did not feel the heat that much. However, one of the Omani girl climbing with us passed out due to a heat stroke. I had to apply my emergency responder techniques to get her to feel better. I, too, felt dizzy on the way home due to the excess of heat. Hopefully, the headache and dizziness were gone the following morning.

 

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On the way to Ibri, some part of the highway through the desert is straight line and radar-free. I reached 189km/h with 4 persons inboard my brave Tida.

We could not play for long because the highway stopped with no warning sign. Can you imagine driving at 140-150km/h and the road ends with barriers?

Muscat Great Mosque (pictures)

 

One the major building you may find in Muscat is the Grand Mosque. It is devoted to the spirituality of the Oman people. Whether you pass by night or day, it is a architectural wonder made in the Middle East style of Mosques.

As it is a place of worship, non-Muslims may not enter as they will. However, guided tour are offered everyday from 8am to 11am.

Entrance of the Mosque

One of the gate with the golden globe

I'm sure my mom would love having such lights

The marble staircase in the northern entrance

Christmas Holiday in France

 

I went back to France for the new year holiday. I was not lucky because it was really freezing due to a cold wave over Europe. The temperatures were about -10°C !

 

Amiens Cathedral lightings for the Holiday season

Street lighting in Amiens

Christmas market in Lille

The car after the first day of snow

Amiens Library under the snow

 

Thais playing in the snow (she did not like it very much actually)

 

Chocolate waffle in Amiens

Frozen water fountain in Salouel (near Amiens)

Funny picture in a flower shop in Lille (Soleil means "Sun" in French).

On my way back, over the Alps

Turtle Beach

 

On the Thursday night, we slept in a hut next to the beach at Ras Al Haad. The hut comfort was poor but the night included dinner and breakfast which were OK. We wanted to see the turtle nesting at night but the evening tour was full. There were still vacancies for the morning one. The only problem is it starts at 4:00am. However, it is well worth getting up early.

The rules

The entrance fee to Ras Al Jin is RO3. Park rangers bring group to the beach after explaining the rules about the visit. The rules you should abide by are :

• never stand in front of the turtle,
• remain quiet,
• don't touch the animals,
• never stand between the turtles and the sea,
• NO LIGHT !!!

Baby turtles rely on the light to reach the sea. Any flash camera or camp fire will lead them the wrong way to a certain death.

They have changed the rules since November 1st 2008 : no camping, no car, no unaccompanied people, is allowed on the beach. Only 100 people are allowed to enter the park at one time, either at 9pm or at 4am. They are working on turning off the fishermen's mosque light at night time.

The group  we were in was mainly Indian families. Some of them were really annoying and would not abide by the rule. C. almost slammed a kid who was throwing sand at the nesting turtle. However, the park rangers, though being very nice and polite, keep a close control over the situation. We were warned, at the beginning of the visit, that not following the rules would lead to be kicked out of the park.

The park

As far as I remember, the park was created in 1996. It protects 45km of the coastal line, including the shore. Only 2 km of beach are open to the public.

The visit

We went on foot to the first beach. Some lazy people asked to go there using the park minibus (it's a 10min walk in the dark). These same people ended up being pain in the neck for the all group.

We stopped at about 300m of the sea, two rangers went on the beach to see if any turtle was nesting. Unfortunately there was none.

Therefore, we went to a second beach (10min walk). After a short wait, they found 2 green turtles nesting. They are called green turtles because their body fat is green (they are actually killed partly because of that).

They also found two babies hatching. Here are the pictures :

 

You see the eggs under the right flipper.

Baby turtle : only 1 out of 1000 become adult. This one was already wounded by crabs.

The same turtle in the hole she made to nest.

Another baby turtle : this one was eaten before getting to the sea.

Sunset in Oman

Turtle covering the eggs

The covering of the eggs being finished, the turtle made its way to the see.

One of my favorite picture : on the left hand side, you can see the trail of a turtle on the sand.

Almost there

Home !

 

Feelings :

This night will probably be one of the best memories of my stay in Oman. It was wonderful to see nature at work. The Sultanate has a jewel, they should keep up the good work and cut the "bad" tourism to switch to a more responsible one.

I am very thankful to the rangers who were very knowledgeable and kind.

I would definitively recommend this park to anyone planning a trip to Oman.

3 days weekend with C. (part 1 : day 1 and day 2)

 

I took 2 days off from work (Thursday and Saturday) and C. came to visit me. This was the perfect opportunity to travel around a little. The good thing is that you don't have to worry about the weather... It's always blue sky and warm weather.

Day 1 : Muscat

On Wednesday, I picked up C. at the airport at 4:40am. I had not much sleep the night before. Indeed, I looked up the flight status on he web and it was said to be 4 hours late (for the first leg CDG-DOHA). That meant missing the connecting flight to Muscat. I called up Qatar Air, they told me to call back at 3am since they had no update.

However, C. sent me an SMS stating that the flight was not delayed. Therefore, I woke up at 4 and picked her up and we went back to the apartment. Soon after I had to go to work. C. slept through the day and I came back at about 6pm after a difficult day at work mainly due to my short night.

I wanted to bring C. to the Sushi bar (she loves Sushi) but they had a seafood buffet, way overpriced (27RO pp). Therefore, we went to the Turkish house, which was nice and more typical than the previous place. C. had grilled shrimp, I took grilled seafood mix. The shrimp here actually tastes like fresh shrimp. As appetizers, we had mezzes (olives, hommos, eggplant purée,...) with arabic bread.

Day 2 : the coastal road from Muscat to Sur

In the morning, we had bagels and cream cheese. Then we hit the road to Sur, using the coastal highway (there are 2 main ways to get from Muscat to Sur : along the coast or the inner road). The highway is nice (dual carriageway) but is not finished yet. There is a funny sign at the entrance of the highway : "the highway is under construction, motorists use it at their own risk". However, you can drive from Quriyat to Sur with a regular car (no 4WD needed).

 The Didab Lake Park Sinkhole

On our way to Sur, we stopped to the sinkhole. It's a really nice place surrounded by a park. It's kind of tricky to find though.

The sinkhole is about 15m deep and 50m wide. There is crystal clear green water at the bottom. it's salty and warm, the perfect spot to take a break on the road.

We met couple of Omani over there, one of them told us he drives everyday on the nearby highway but never got a chance to stop by. He asked us if the water was warm because his son wanted to jump in the water. He also told us the place is known as "the hole of the fallen star", as it is believed that the hole was created after a star fell from the skies. I like this story though geology might not agree with it.

Enough talking, here are the pictures :

 

 

Wadi Tiwi

Second stop on our way to Sur : Wadi Tiwi. Once again, we had a hard time finding it and my brave Tiida (that's my car) had to show some SUV abilities to get to the wadi.

After that we reached Sur and Raj Al Sad where we spent the night. I'll tell you more in the part 2.

The sultanate of what ? Where is Oman ?

Though many people have never heard about Oman, most of them don't dare asking me about where I work.

The Sultanate of Oman is located in the Middle East, South of UAE and East of Saudi Arabia. At the south-eastern part you'll find Yemen.

Before you open a new window to look up where are these countries, here is a map found on google :

I live in Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate. 

In the peninsula, it's the second biggest country, just after Saudi Arabia. It's pretty much the size of UK. More than 80% of the country surface is deserts and sand valleys.

Therefore the climate is a bit arid. However, the southern part gets some rainfall and tends to be "greener" as far as aspect is concerned.

I'll be able to tell you more about the geography through the trips I intend to take around the country.

Mots clés Technorati : where is oman,Sultanate of Oman,Geography

First week in Oman : the pictures

You'll find here couple of pictures I have taken during my first week in Oman.

I took this picture on my way to work. It's close to plant where I work, this was the first cat I saw in Oman. they're actually quite different from those in Europe.

I don't know why but I think somebody I know might bring a cat back in Amiens...

Pedestrians crossing...

Inexpensive beach cleaner.

Ever wonder how you spell 'Papa John's' in Arabic ?